June 8, 2020
By Rick Adams
Thirty-one well-dressed ladies and gentlemen from around Switzerland braved the forecast of thunderstorms for the annual Swiss Hickory Golf event at Waldkirch Golfpark, the first SHG gathering of the 2020 season. After light rain for the first couple of holes, the skies cleared long enough to get the round in.
In the Stableford format, Tanja Ries of Waldkirch had the best “brutto” (gross) score, followed by Annelies Tschan (Appenzell), who had the shot of the day with a 30-meter chip-in for birdie on the 3rd hole. Third was Nicole Häberli of Kyburg.
Remo Marc Nüesch, Waldkirch, who has hosted the event for five years, was first brutto for the men. Runners-up were Urs Kundert and Roger Reifier, both members at Waldkirch.
In the “netto” category, the order was Kundert, Nüesch, Ueli Lamm from Engadine, and Maurus Lauber, Bubikon.
The well-conditioned Waldkirch Golfpark (https://www.golfparks.ch/de/golfparks/golfpark/waldkirch) offers a unique layout with four 9-hole tracks, each of similar playing difficulty and length (2415 to 3072 metres, or 2641-3359 yards). The “red” nine may be shortest, but also has the steepest slopes, and the closing three holes are known to locals as the “Tal der Tränen” (valley of tears). The hickory group played the blue nine, followed by the red, whereas other golfers were on the orange and yellow holes.
Located near Saint Gallen, less than an hour east of Zurich, the golfpark features two large practice putting greens, a wide practice driving range (with both mats and grass tees), a chipping green, and a long-pitch green.
Coming events for the Swiss Hickory Golf Association (https://www.swisshickorygolf.ch/spielen/offene-events-2019/) include:
3-4 July – Swiss Hickory Matchplay, Golf Club Limpachtal
22 August – The Inn Cup (an early 1900s event revived in 2018), Golf Engadin
6 September – Hickory Special Rankweil (Texas Scramble), Golf Club Montfort Rankweil
9-10 October – Swiss Hickory Open Championship, Golf Ascona & Golf Losone
Enjoying dinner at the 2020 Swiss Hickory Championship.
